Autopsy results still not released in death of former Pingry athlete

It has been more than a week since a 20-year-old Summit resident was found dead near his Upstate New York college, and authorities remain tight-lipped about the investigation, with the autopsy yet to be released.

Warren Kimber IV, a varsity lacrosse player at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, N.Y., was found dead in an off-campus house on the morning of Jan. 31.

Kimber was a gifted athlete and 2007 graduate of the private Pingry School in Martinsville, N.J. He was a sophomore at Hobart, which his grandfather attended and now serves on the board of trustees.

Kimber -- known as "Kim" -- lived on the Hobart campus, not in the house where his body was found a few blocks away, said college spokeswoman Catherine Williams. Three Hobart lacrosse players live in that home, which is unaffiliated with the school, she said.

More than 600 people attended a student-organized memorial service for Kimber in a church near the college on Feb. 4, the Wednesday after his death, Williams said. A day later, the Kimber family held a service at the Madison Hotel in Morristown, where Hobart president Mark Gearan spoke.

Meanwhile, the investigation into the young man's death continues, though authorities have offered little in the way of new information.

The Monroe County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed that it sent autopsy results to the Ontario County Sheriff's Office, the county in which Hobart and William Smith Colleges resides. The sheriff's office referred all questions to the Geneva police, which said the investigation is ongoing.

Responding to a reporter's e-mail today, Geneva police Lt. John Cataline wrote, "the autopsy report most probably will not be completed until the toxicology report is completed and that will take at least six to eight weeks."

While that is not unusual for a toxicology report, authorities regularly release an autopsy's preliminary findings within a day or two, and it often includes cause of death. No reason was given for this delay.

The Fingers Lakes Times newspaper reported that neighbors of the house where Kimber was found said there had been a party the night before. Authorities would not confirm that information.

Hobart has not taken any disciplinary action against the three lacrosse players who live there, though Williams said "any time anything of this magnitude happens, we do an internal review."

The home "is still technically a crime scene," Geneva police Lt. Cataline wrote, "and no one has been allowed to return as yet."